Stockable container and apparatus for its manufacture



Sept. 8, 1910 G. w. BROWN STOCKABLE CONTAINER AND APPARATUS FOR ITS MANUFACTURE Original Filed June 27. 1966 'INVENTOR.

CgAYLORD W BROWN iearnzan a I ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,527,380 STOCKABLE CONTAINER AND APPARATUS FOR ITS MANUFACTURE Gaylord W. Brown, Beaverton, Mich., assignor to Brown Machine Company of Michigan, Inc., a corporation of Michigan Original application June 27, 1966, Ser. No. 560,534. Divided and this application Feb. 6, 1969, Ser. No. 822,770

Int. Cl. B65d 21/02 US. Cl. 220-97 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A nestable container part having a plurality of angularly spaced protuberances spaced inwardly from its annular sidewall and extending from its closed end wall into the interior of the container to provide supports adjacent, but spaced from, the end wall for the closed end of a similarly formed nested container part. A double wall web connects each of the projections with the annular sidewall.

This is a division of application Ser. No. 560,534, filed June 27, 1966. p

This invention relates to a stackable or nestable container construction.

It is common practice in the plastic container art to provide nestable or stackable containers capable of being telescoped one within another and in which a ledge or seat is provided near the closed end of each container for engagement by the closed end of a nested container so as to prevent undue telescoping and facilitate the removal of individual containers from a stack by automatic means of the kind conventionally found in coin operated beverage dispensing machinery. It is not uncommon for a container of the general class described to be provided with an interior, continuous ledge adjacent the containers closed end and to form such containers by means of ditferential pressure forming molding machines. The provision of such a continuous ledge has certain disadvantages. For example, such a ledge tends to reduce the capacity of the container, thereby requiring the sidewall of the container to be elongated if the container is to be capable of accommodating a specified quantity of liquid. Furthermore, the mold die or dies by means of which the container is formed are more ditficult to manufacture and use.

It has been found that the benefits of the continuous ledge or seat of prior constructions can be obtained by simple projections provided in a container adjacent its closed end. Such projections can be few in number, do not decrease materially the capacity of the container, and perform just as eifectively as a continuous ledge or seat.

An object of this invention is to provide a container having self-contained, discrete and integral means for enabling similar containers to be nested in a controlled stacked condition in such manner as to facilitate unstacking of the containers one by one.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stackable container having means therein for supporting a similar container and in which the supporting means is discontinuous so as to minimize the container space occupied thereby.

A further object of the invention is to provide a nestable container of the character described and which readily lends itself to mass production 'by differential pressure forming techniques.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out specifically or will become apparent from the following description when it is considered in conjunction with the appended claims and the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section of two containers constructed in accordance with the invention and arranged in stacked relation;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of one of the containers shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, enlarged, sectional view of a detail of the construction disclosed in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, sectional view of a portion of a mold for forming containers according to the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the mold shown in FIG. 5.

A container constructed in accordance with the invention is designated generally by the reference character 1 and comprises a tapering annular side wall 2 terminating at its open end in a beaded or roller rim 3 and having a closure wall 4 at its opposite end. The central portion of the wall 4 preferably is inwardly bowed as at 5, and it is preferred that the cylindrical wall 2 taper inwardly from its open end toward its closed end so as to facilitate nesting of one container within another.

Containers such as are herein disclosed conventionally are placed in coin operated vending machines in stacks from which individual containers are withdrawn in response to the depositing of one or more coins. The separation of individual containers from the stack usually is accomplished by automatically operable means which may be interposed between the rims of adjacent containers so as to effect separation of either the uppermost or lowermost container in a stack from the remaining containers. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide spacing between the rims 3 of adjacent containers when the containers are in stacked or nested condition.

A container constructed in accordance with the disclosed embodiment of the invention is provided with a plurality of discrete, hollow support webs or protuberances 6 which are so located as to engage and support the bottom wall 4 of a nested container. Each support 6 comprises a generally cylindrical wall 7 integrally joined to the bottom wall 4 and extending longitudinally inwardly of the container a distance sufficient to engage the bottom wall 4 of a nested container and space the adjacent rims 3 a desired distance apart. The wall 7 has a closure wall 8 at its inner end and two substantially parallel, contiguous webs 9 and 10 that are joined integrally to the walls 7 and 8 and to the sidewall 2. The upper or inner ends of the webs 9 and 10 merge to form a smooth wall -11. In the formation of the container, the radially outer ends of the webs 9 and 10 may flare slightly to provide a small recess 12 in the outer wall of the container.

In the preferred embodiment of the container there are three identical supports 6 which are circumferentially spaced uniformly from each other, but more or fewer supports may be provided if desired.

The supports 6 occupy relatively little space in the container and, therefore, do not materially decrease the capacity of the container. Moreover, the construction of each support is such that each support is joined to both of the walls 2 and 4, thereby enabling the walls 8 and 11 and the webs 9 and 10 to rigidity the closed end of the container so as to enable it to withstand substantial radial loads.

A container according to the invention may be formed by differential pressure molding apparatus comprising a block or body 13 in which is a cavity 14 having side and bottom walls 15 and 16, respectively, complementary to the shape of the corresponding container walls. In communication with the cavity 14 is a plurality of passages 17 which may communicate with a source of vacuum so as to evacuate the cavity during molding operations in the usual manner and draw the heated thermoplastic material being used into intimate engagement with the cavity walls. The bottom wall 16 may be provided with threaded openings 18 for the removable accommodation of correspondingly threaded pins 19 which are radially spaced from the side wall 15 and project above the bottom wall 16. Each pin 19 is adapted to form one of the supports 6 of the container 1.

In the formation of a container, a sheet of plastic material such as polystyrene, polypropylene, polyethylene, or any other suitable plastic may be placed over the cavity 14 in a suitably heated condition whereupon the partial evacuation of the cavity 14 will cause the plastic material to be deformed into the cavity and take the shape of the latter. As the plastic material is drawn toward the cavity bottom 16, the pins 19 will form the tubular projections 6 and the plastic material will be drawn around the pins 19 to form the webs 9 and 10 and the walls 8 and 11. The container so formed then may be stripped from the mold cavity in the usual mannet and be subsequently provided with the rim 3 by conventional processes.

This disclosure illustrates presently preferred embodiments of the container and apparatus, but is intended to invention is definedin the claims.

I claim:

1. A nestable container part comprising: a sidewall having a closure wall at one end; a plurality of angularly spaced projections spaced inwardly from the sidewall and extending axially from said closure wall into the interior of said part in a position to provide a support adjacent, but spaced from, said closure wall to support the closed end of a similarly nested container part; and a generally radially disposed double wall web connecting each of said projections with said sidewall.

2. The container part as set forth in claim 1 wherein portions of said side and closure wall are displaced to form said projections and double wall web.

3. The container part as set forth in claim 2 wherein said projections are tubular.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,854,790 10/1958 Hartung.

3,083,888 4/1963 Miller. 3,393,826 7/1968 Brown.

GEORGE E. LOWRANCE, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 229-15 

